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Chapter 9 – Becoming Stronger at the Dragon Village! Part 3

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“TRANSLATOR: Anargya”

“EDITOR: GhostApe”

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「ーーYour own existence has already shifted the defined fate of this world to ruin. Are you aware of that?」

「What do you mean?」

That is a sentence I cannot ignore.

I could hear my own tone of voice mixed with tension.

「Ahh… so you are not aware of it.」

The Dragon King shrugged his shoulders.

「That’s why I asked you what you mean by that. Did you hear what I said?」

「Well… the princess that you must protectーis a special existence in this world. After all, in this era of the world… She is one of the four heroes of the oracle you see. A big cataclysm will come, and they will be the one who will save the world… They are the most important person in this world.」

I already know that.

Cordelia, the hero of the north, and the other heroes: from the east, west, and south respectively… All four of them received an oracle and worked together to face the disaster.

Anyone who isn’t a recluse living alone in the mountains would know about it…… That’s the story.

「…Ahh, that’s right.」

「Striking the darkness with the sword of hope, and warding off the calamity… That’s what a hero is.」

I responded again with a slight irritation.

「…Ahh, right.」

「A hero is someone who saves the weak, and exorcizes demons. They are an existence of absolute strength. Is that wrong?」

My irritation is turning into clear anger.

I’m really annoyed when people say things that are obvious.

「So, just what are you trying to say?」

「The weak, in other word, the villagers…are the people the heroes should save, you know?」

The Dragon King shook his head from side to side with an exasperated face.

「…?」

With a deep, deep sigh, he said.

「A villager protecting the heroーjust what are you doing? Seriously… What is wrong with you? 」

「……?」

「I can not only read memories. I can also read the logic of the world… even just a little.」

「What do you want to say?」

「At that time, when you defeated that goblin army, the rest of history went mad.」

「…The history…went mad… you say?」

「Yup.」Said the Dragon King as he nodded.

「At that time, that moment, the truth is, she was planning to take a serious injury in order to protect you.」

「I know that even without you telling me. As the result of that, she wouldn’t wear short sleeves even in the middle of summer because she was worried about the scar.」

「That’s right. That, you see… In order to protect you, in order to get stronger, she stopped relying on her heroic qualities. In the sense of training, that is when she is supposed to push herself to the limits.」

「Eh? What does… that means?」

Come to think of it, in my previous life, after that happened, she suddenly began to hide in the mountains and actively participate in the Knight Order’s monster subjugations.

Originally, she had a personality where she couldn’t even kill insects, and she hated the oracle of the hero from the bottom of her heart.

「There is nothing. There is no sake to getting stronger.」

「Why… is that?」

「Isn’t it the same feeling as what you have?」

「The same… as mine?」

「The feeling of wanting to become stronger in order to protect something important. I think that feeling is stronger than anything else.」

「…eh?」

「That girl was called the Dragon Killer when she was fifteen. Do you think she is able to do that in a whim and with elegance?」

「No, that’s…」

「Originally, that goblin attack… is supposed to be an awakening event for her to decide to live as a Hero. But you solved that on your own. In a way that is putting a cart before the horse.」

「…No, but…」

「And that is when the fate of this world is decided. Well, it’s really uncertain now that it’s progressed to another branch, but…」

「……」

「ーーDragon Killer… It’s a title that can only be obtained if the Hero is not being complacent about being a hero, devotes themselves into training with all their might, and puts their lives on the line.」

「……」

「It’s not just a matter of talent, as what you think.」

「……」

「I can’t read everything. I don’t know what exactly will happen except that it will be a great disaster. But… The world is on the brink of destruction. That’s all I can say.」

The Dragon King gave me a mocking smile.

「I see. You are a human child after all… I’m a little disappointed. Well, it’s not like it’s unreasonable. After all, considering the scale; twisting the Hero’s Oracle, the fate of the world… it’s about stuff like that, you see.」

I remained silent.

The Dragon King and I silently stared at each other for 30 seconds.

Then, I opened my mouth.

「That girl is already useless as a Hero… is that what you are trying to say?」

「According to your memory, she will become the Dragon Killer when she was 15, right?」

「Evil Dragon Subjugation… Isn’t it?」

There is no way I’ll forget that.

When she was accompanying the knights on a monster subjugation, they met a non-standard monster and the knights suffered total annihilationーー and she is on the brink of death.

And then, as a repayment, she parted the Evil Dragon’s neck with its torso.

「First of all, at this point, this time, she can’t win against the Evil Dragon. She will one hundred percent die.」

I was silent for a whileーand then I started laughing.

「Why are you laughing?」

「In short, it would be okay if I just got stronger, right? To the extent that I can slay the Evil Dragon, no, far stronger than that guy…」

「That may be, but…」

「My childhood friend, the hero, earned the title of Dragon Killer at the age of 15. Then, if you count backwards…」

「Fumu?」

「ーIt would be okay if I subjugated the Evil Dragon when I am at least 14 years old, right?」

Hearing my words, the Dragon King made a dumbfounded expression.

And after a while, he laughed with genuine joy.

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